Pale wood clads Courtyard House in Vancouver by Leckie Studio

A courtyard lies at the heart of an urban family dwelling by Canadian firm Leckie Studio that is meant to serve as an "alternative to the status quo in Vancouver".

The Courtyard House is located on a slender lot in Vancouver's Riley Park neighbourhood, which has many post-war bungalows. U-shaped in plan, the dwelling consists of boxy forms with roofs that gently slope down toward a central enclosed garden.

The home was designed for a couple with two children, one of whom has already left home. Rather than prioritizing the building's size, local firm Leckie Studio sought to reduce the home to its most vital elements – a philosophical approach it describes as essentialism.

Courtyard House by Leckie Studio is located on a slim plot in Vancouver

"With its simple, compact form and focus on local materials, the project is grounded in a critical, regionalist approach that embodies an essentialist approach to architecture," the firm said.

"It is offered as an alternative to the status quo in Vancouver of single-family homes that seek to maximise the number of bedrooms and bathrooms on the site, under the misguided notion of resale value."

Encompassing 2,500 square feet (232 square metres), the two-storey home has a public area on the ground level and three bedrooms above.

The building wraps around a central courtyard in a 'U' shape

On the ground floor, rooms are arranged around the landscaped courtyard, which is encircled on three sides by glazed walls. The fourth side was left open to the outdoors.

"The central, three-sided courtyard serves to introduce light and air into the centre of a relatively long and narrow floor plan, effectively introducing a third ‘middle yard' to the otherwise typical front and rear yards," the firm said.

Facades are clad in vertical strips of pale-toned Western red cedar. Interior finishes include wood, stone and concrete.

The front elevation, which faces north, features a recessed entryway, a slatted wooden screen and a large, square-shaped window. On the south, the upper portion of the home slightly cantilevers over the lower floor, helping shade a glazed wall.

Leckie Studio stripped the residential home down to its essential elements

Inside, the home has a clear layout, with a living room located in the front of the ground level, and a kitchen and dining area found in the rear. Situated between these two zones is the courtyard, which helps the dwelling feel more expansive.

"While the actual areas of the living room and kitchen/dining rooms that flank the courtyard are relatively modest, the perceived areas of each are effectively doubled as the fully glazed courtyard merges with each of those spaces," the team said.

The interior is furnished in stone, wood and concrete

A staircase lined with wooden slats leads up to the private areas on the second storey. The master suite faces the street, while the other bedrooms overlook the backyard. There also is an office space, which looks onto the courtyard.

While ample glazing is found on the lower floor, the upper level has less transparency.

Rooms on the upper floor have less transparency

"The second floor is characterised by discrete punched openings and strategically located skylights that reinforce an additional sense of privacy," the team said.

Founded by Michael Leckie in 2015, Leckie Studio has designed a number of residential projects, including a penthouse with a rainforest-style atrium that is found inside a BIG-designed tower in Vancouver. The firm also recently completed mirrored cabins that blend with the forest.

Photography is byEma Peter.

The post Pale wood clads Courtyard House in Vancouver by Leckie Studio appeared first on Dezeen.

#residential #all #architecture #courtyards #houses #canada #vancouver #canadianhouses #leckiestudio

Leckie Studio designs penthouse inside BIG's Vancouver skyscraper

A rainforest-style atrium with a cedar tree lies within a two-storey unit designed by Leckie Studio, located inside the new Vancouver House tower.

The penthouse is found within the sculptural, 59-storey tower that rises up from a triangular site in downtown Vancouver, near Granville Bridge. The building was designed by architecture firm BIG and was completed last year.

A rainforest-style atrium sits at the heart of the penthouse

The two-level apartment is on the northwest side of the skyscraper, where it is afforded views of English Bay and the North Shore Mountains.

The unit's owner desired an inviting atmosphere and spaces to accommodate natural artefacts and artwork from her travels. She turned to local firm Leckie Studio to oversee the design.

The apartment has views far-reaching views of Vancouver and beyond

The team set out to create a layered environment that looked both inward and outward, and was infused with organic elements.

"Through an iterative design process, the studio and client arrived at a highly bespoke, biophilic design that is attuned to the passage of time," the team said.

A kitchen on the lower level features a giant island

The unit is divided into public and private areas. On the bottom level, one finds a living room, dining area, kitchen and an office. A half-turn stair leads to the upper level, which holds two bedrooms.

There also is a 167-square-metre roof deck that is accessed via a private elevator.

"The experience of the penthouse is quite varied, depending on the time of day and which space is being occupied," said architect Michael Leckie.

The unit's focal point is a tall, glazed atrium filled with lush vegetation.

The atrium runs alongside the stairwell leading to bedrooms

Acting as the "spine" for the penthouse, the atrium runs alongside the stairwell and extends from the unit's bottom level all the way to its roof terrace. At the top, it is open to the sky.

"Conceived as a microcosm of the Pacific Northwest rainforest, its centrepiece is a full-size, red cedar tree that lends a contemplative and grounding element to the onlooking interiors," the team said.

Finishes and fixtures are kept minimal in the bathroom

"The ecosystem surrounding this tree will be sustained long term by a 'nurse' log, which replenishes the space with nutrients from decay."

Beyond the atrium, earthy elements are found throughout the dwelling and form a rich backdrop for the client's belongings.

Marble lines the walls of the powder room

American black walnut makes up the woodwork in the living room, kitchen and bathing areas. The high-quality wood was also used for the stair treads.

Travertine was used for flooring and custom-milled bathroom sinks. Smokey grey marble lines the walls in a powder room.

Blackened-steel accents can be found throughout the apartment

Blackened-steel accents run throughout the unit and act as a counterpoint to the natural materials.

The penthouse's sparse furnishings include an oak-topped dining table with a cast-bronze base, and a low-lying, multidirectional sofa that support various postures and orientations.

A lighting installation from Bocci illuminates the stairwell

Floating in the stairwell is a lighting installation from Bocci that evokes a cluster of sparkling fireflies. The piece is made of copper and 122 glass luminaires.

The rooftop terrace is meant to serve as an extension of the living space. It is fitted with a stainless-steel jacuzzi, an outdoor shower, a kitchenette and plenty of seating.

The lighting installation is made from copper and glass

Founded by Michael Leckie in 2015, Leckie Studio has designed a number of residential projects, including mirrored cabins that blend into the forest. The firm also designed Slack's Vancouver office, located within a repurposed industrial building.

Photography is byConrad Brown.

The post Leckie Studio designs penthouse inside BIG's Vancouver skyscraper appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #interiors #residential #instagram #apartments #big #canada #vancouver #penthouses #leckiestudio

Arcana mirrored cabins will blend into the forest in Canada

Architecture office Leckie Studio and design agency Aruliden have released designs for a series of mirrored structures that will be built in a forest in Ontario, Canada.

Called Arcana, the secluded cabin rentals will be built in an area of woodland two hours north of Toronto.

The Arcana mirrored cabins are designed to blend into the surrounding forest

Their exact location is being kept secret and will only be revealed to guests once they have booked. With their reflective outer walls, the cabins have been designed to merge into the landscape.

Leckie Studio and Aruliden plan to build the cabins with a wooden frame and cladding covered in sheets of polished stainless steel.

Each cabin's interior will be lined with pine and feature floor-to-ceiling windows by the sleeping area.

Each cabin is clad in stainless steel to reflect the trees

The 275-square-foot buildings are designed to be almost invisible in the deciduous forest, allowing guests to feel as close to nature as possible.

The metal cladding will offer a slightly distorted reflection to prevent birds from being hurt by accidentally flying into it.

The reflective surface will be treated to prevent bird strike

"As a brand that's rooted in respecting the power and beauty of nature, it's been a priority to design our structures so that they aren't a hazard to birds and other creatures that reside in Arcana's habitat," Leckie Studio and Aruliden told Dezeen.

"It's difficult to distinguish in the artist renderings, but the reflective cladding is an imperfect mirrored surface, which is naturally a deterrent to birds."

"Additionally, we are applying film to all reflective surfaces that is unnoticeable to the human eye but can allow birds to identify the cabin as an object in the landscape," they added.

The beds in the cabins will look out on the forest through floor-to-ceiling windows

The cabins will have electricity and running water, but the designers have created an off-grid version that they could build in more remote locations in the future.

"To ease the transition from the hinterland to the heartland, we've designed them with basic luxuries, such as electricity and running water," said Leckie Studio and Aruliden.

"There's a contemporary kitchen, a custom-built fire pit with grill situated on the private deck for all-weather alfresco cooking, and a private bathroom with a rainfall showerhead, and a carefully curated selection of amenities supplied from Sangre de Fruita."

Each cabin will feature its own kitchen and bathroom

Guests will be able to access the cabins with a contactless check-in, and the site will include facilities such as a sauna.

Tours of the 15 kilometres of wooded hiking trails around the cabins will be available, including foraging expeditions and guided forest bathing. Forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, is a Japanese health practice that combines mindfulness and walking amongst trees.

The cabins will be built in an area of woodland two hours north of Toronto

Construction is due to begin on the Arcana cabins later this year.

Vancouver-based Leckie Studio is also the founder of a company that makes flat-pack wilderness huts.

More mirrored buildings that blend in with nature include an off-grid cabin in Mexico and a hotel in China made from 18 mirrored cabins on a mountainside.

Images courtesy of Aruliden.

The post Arcana mirrored cabins will blend into the forest in Canada appeared first on Dezeen.

#all #hotels #architecture #canada #ontario #mirroredbuildings #cabins #leckiestudio